Judge Astacio back to jail following latest hearing

Overview

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio wasn’t a free woman for very long, as she was again sent to jail after a hearing for a 5th violation of probation.

Court paperwork stated that earlier this week, Astacio refused to pay for and get hooked up to an alcohol monitoring anklet.

Astacio represented herself Thursday after her lawyer requested to be removed from the case.

She did not go quietly after the judge ruled that she would be remanded without bail.

“There is no legal authority for the court to incarcerate me. You cannot incarcerate me just because you are able to,” Astacio pleaded to the judge.

Her comments did not sway his decision, and she is due back in court Monday at 11 a.m.

Astacio has been off the bench since her DWI conviction for drunk driving in February 2016, following a crash on Interstate 490. Part of her sentence was to abstain from drinking, but then Astacio spent time in jail for not reporting for an alcohol test.

Astacio was then accused of going to Del Lago Resort and Casino in Seneca County, two counties away, in September, without giving her probation officer proper notification. She was then released from behind bars until this most recent appearance.

In frequent appearances in and outside court, stemming back months, Astacio made comments which include:

Astacio has received counsel from three lawyers. Well-known DWI attorney Ed Fiandach, the first, was taken aback at the amount of attention the case received, before Astacio fired him from her jail cell. He was replaced by Mark Young and most recently, New York City-based Greg Salmon, who was granted a request to get taken off the case.

Astacio is still collecting a $174,000 per year salary. Only the state Judicial Conduct Commission can remove a judge or remove their salary.